Fenoglio's Inkheart
by StrollingPlayer
Summary: Ever wonder what happened in Fenoglio's Inkheart, the book Mo originally read aloud from? Well, I have. This is the story of Dustfinger, Capricorn, Basta and a few other characters from Inkspell, told as Fenoglio originally intended it to be.
1. Chapter 1: The fire raisers

**Chapter One**

**The fire - raisers**

Capricorn stood at the edge of the forest and watched the small farm like a predator watching its prey.  
The farmer had again refused his daughter to him, even though he had made it obvious that his men would burn his farm to the ground if he did. The fool was as stubborn as an old mule and now he would face the consequences."Everything's ready, sir," Basta said, approaching Capricorn.  
He turned to the skinny fifteen year-old and nodded. "Be sure to start the fire on the side of the house farthest from the girl's room," He said, turning his attention back to the house. "I still plan on making her one of my maids."

"Yes sir," Basta ran back to the house, hardly making a sound. The black jackets were already beginning to light the first few torches. Firefox, Capricorn's deputy, distributed the torches to the men. Capricorn gave the signal and the men began throwing the torches on top of the roof, and one man even managed to get his torch to break through one of the windows. The men laughed maliciously as screams of shock and fear came from inside the house. Flatnose, who was responsible for getting the girl out, took the screams as his cue to run in. It didn't take long for the miniature giant to run in and get the girl. He soon came out with the sobbing and screaming girl slung over his broad shoulder. Flatnose carried her over to where Capricorn stood and set her down on the ground in front of his feet.

"You monster! You fire raiser!" The girl screamed at Capricorn. "How! How could you do this!" Capricorn studied the girl. She hadn't been harmed by the fire at all. She was of course very beautiful; she had an hourglass figure with long blonde hair framing her green eyes.  
"I could have done worse, my dear," Capricorn finally answered her. "I could have had the Shadow kill your family."

The girl shivered at the mention of Capricorn's monster and was about to reply when an agonized scream came from the house. Capricorn turned his head in the direction of the scream. He saw that one of his men had gotten both of his arms caught on fire and was now rolling around on the ground, desperately trying to put it out. Two other black jackets ran over to the man and tried to help put out the fire. He soon recognized the man as Basta because of his snow white shirt. Basta managed to put out the flames burning his arms with the help of the other two men.

"We need to clear out of here now," Capricorn said, turning his attention back to Flatnose. "This fire is getting out of hand." Flatnose bellowed the message that it was time to go, which the men gladly did because the fire had begun to spread to everything surrounding the house. When the fire raisers were a safe distance from the fire, they stopped to rest for a while. It was during this time that Capricorn tried to see how exactly the fire had gotten out of hand and if there was any way to prevent it from happening again.

"It was just too much for us to control, sir." That was the answer Firefox had given him when asked.

"Well, is there any way you can keep it under control in the future?"

Firefox thought for a moment before answering. "Well, we can't, but there is someone who can."

Capricorn frowned skeptically. "Oh really? Who?"

"A fire eater. Some people call him the fire-dancer. They say he can talk to it and make it do whatever he wants. He's almost never gotten burned."

Capricorn considered it for a moment. It sounded pretty far-fetched to him but he couldn't risk anything like this happening again. He decided to send a few of his men after the fire eater. "What is this fire eater's name?"

"Dustfinger."


	2. Chapter 2: The Fire Dancer

**Ok, second chapter(obviously). Hope you enjoy, and thank you for the review. I have also wanted to read a story like this but I never found one so I wrote one on my own.**

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Chapter 2 The Fire-Dancer

The crowd stood back in awe and fear of the fire-eater's tricks. He blew fire from his hands, causing the crowd to cheer and back up even further. Then he began juggling torches, slowly at first, but then he sped up until you couldn't even tell the torches apart. For his final trick he caused fiery flowers to bloom and made them grow bigger. They grew so big that they finally exploded and sparks rained down from the sky. The fire-dancer, as everyone called him, bowed while people cheered and threw coins. He was only fifteen and already a master of his craft. The young man, Dustfinger, collected his earnings and made his way out of Ombra, back to the Strolling Player's camp.

The sun had already sunken low in the sky when Dustfinger came upon the brightly colored tents. His best friend, the Black Prince, king of the Strolling Players, was already there sitting beside a small fire. They had been friends ever since they were orphaned at the age of five. The Black Prince was possibly one of the best knife throwers on either side of the forest. He used these skills to protect the people he cared about the most, his three sisters and, of course, Dustfinger.

"Hello Dustfinger," the Black Prince said as he joined him by the fire. "How did your performances go?" he asked.

"Pretty good and yours? Did the bear behave alright?" His bear, which he had freed from a very abusive master tended to growl and lash out at people in the past. The Black Prince simply chuckled though, and said "Well he didn't scare everyone off, if that's what you mean."

Dustfinger laughed along with his friend.

"That's exactly what I mean; I'll never forget the time he almost charged  
Cloud-Dancer when he accidentally hit him with that pole."

At that particular moment, Cloud-Dancer and the Strong Man walked up  
to the fire and sat down. "Well speak of the devil! The Prince and I were just talking  
about the time his bear almost charged you. I'm sure you remember?"

"That's not something I'll be forgetting in a hurry," he said, glancing  
over at the bear.

"Alright, alright, enough with picking on my bear," the Prince said, a note  
of irritation in his voice. "Tell me how your time in Argenta was. The Adderhead's  
men didn't give you any trouble did he?"

Cloud-Dancer and the Strong Man, along with a number of other strolling  
players, had just recently returned from Argenta on the other side of the forest. The  
ruler of Argent, the Adderhead, or as some call him, the silver prince, despised the Motley  
Folk because his wife was rumored to have cheated on him with a minstrel. He would often hang them  
and stick the heads of minstrels on the pikes of his castle.

"No," the Strong Man answered, "we only went to towns close to the forest, so it wasn't very eventful other than the usual, but we did happen to hear some interesting things about the fire-raisers." Dustfinger and the Prince exchanged a curious look at this, the fire-raiser were feared by people on both sides of the forest, but it was the Motley Folk who feared them the most because they were their own masters and not protected by the law. If any of them were attacked the person responsible would go unpunished, this made them very easy targets. The fire-raisers were fully aware of this.

"We heard that they were burning a farm house near the Wayless wood and that it got completely out of control, one of their own men burnt both arms right up to the shoulder," the Strong Man paused for effect before continuing, "they also say this isn't the first time one of their fires has gotten out of control, three of Capricorn's men have died already."

"Maybe if we're lucky they'll all just die off," said Dustfinger.

Cloud-Dancer snorted. "As if we could be that lucky."

"Well, you never know," the Black Prince.

The Black Prince reached for his cup of mead while gazing into the fire, this proved to be a mistake. Instead of picking up the cup he knocked it over into the fire making it go out with a hiss of smoke. "Oops, sorry, um… Dustfinger?" the Prince looked expectantly at Dustfinger. He immediately spoke a few words in fire and snapped his fingers, the flames didn't come up instantly like they usually did, instead waiting a few seconds before coming to life._ I'll have to go into the Wayless woods tomorrow to get more fire-elf honey_, thought Dustfinger. Though nobody else seemed to notice the extra few seconds it took the flames to pop up.

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Dustfinger departed early the next morning, he had already said farewell to the Black Prince. "Be careful," he said to him, "I know you can get around the woods well, but the fire-raisers like to lurk around in there, too, and they would just love to get their hands on a Strolling Player to torture." Dustfinger just nodded and said he would be careful.

His ears could hear the movements of predators and other dangerous creatures. Why shouldn't he be able to hear one of Capricorn's blood hounds creeping up behind him?

After traveling the entire day he came upon the clearing a few hours before night. Everything was calm and tranquil, which was why he liked being in the woods. It was just so peaceful. Spring had come, so all the leaves and flowers were green and colorful. The pool was in the center of the small clearing, with a stream breaking off from it and heading north, the fire-elf nest was hanging from a tree a few feet away from it. Dustfinger silently approached the pool and knelt down over it like he had done so many times before. One by one the nymphs appeared, their rainbow scales glistening in the fading daylight. They already knew what to do, having done it so many times before. Dustfinger was soon covered in the same cool slime that coated their scales.

He slowly made his way to the fire-elves nest, humming quietly to make them drowsy. The fire-elves buzzed around him angrily until one by one they fell asleep, dropping to the forest floor. Dustfinger only took a small piece of their fire honey, no bigger than his thumbnail, and walked away carefully to the edge of the clearing where he finally stopped humming.

Dustfinger gathered all the dry firewood he could find and put the small piece of fire honey in his mouth only burning his mouth slightly. Just as he was about to speak the few needed words in fire when he heard a twig snap close behind him and spun around. Dustfinger stared at the trees behind him in fear, the only weapons he had were fire and a knife he kept in his pack, if whatever made that noise was a wild cat neither of those would hold it off for long.

He relaxed when he saw it was only a snake making its way up a tree. Satisfied, he turned back to the wood and spoke the needed words in fire and snapped his fingers just like in the Strolling Players camp, this time however, the flames came up and greeted him instantly.

"Well, well, well, and just who do we have here?" Dustfinger stood up in surprise and jerked his head in the direction of the voice. What he saw made his body freeze in absolute terror-there were three black jackets only a few feet away from him.

The one in the front was about average height with dark red hair; the black jacket to his right had dark hair and a goatee. The one to his left was looked like he could be the size of a miniature giant, he also had a very flat nose that hardly stuck out at all and, of course, they all carried swords at their belts.

Dustfinger cursed himself for being so careless as they moved closer. The red haired one drew his sword and pressed it to Dustfinger's neck. "What's your name?" he asked.

He swallowed hard before answering, "Dustfinger." He was confused by the looks of satisfaction on their faces.

"Well Dustfinger, your coming with us," the goateed one said with a thick accent in his voice.

"Why?"

"Because, Capricorn has been just dying to meet you," the flat nosed one answered.

_Me!_, he thought increduously. Up until now he had never had the misfortune to meet any of the black jackets. What could there leader possibly want with him?

The one with the accent pulled out a piece of rope and tied it around Dustfinger's hands.

_I should have been more careful_, he thought, as the three men led him away to Capricorn

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**Thank you for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it. If there is anything you think needs improving let me know. :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Capricorn's Fortress

**Ok here it is. Capricorn's fortress is described differently here than it is in inkspell, but that's because the book wasn't with me when i wrote it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inkheart. Cornelia owns everything**

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**Chapter Three**

**Capricorn's Fortress**

It took three days for them to reach Capricorn's hideout in the Wayless Woods.

They hadn't bothered to make camp after taking Dustfinger prisoner. He thought it was very stupid on their part because night time is when all the big wild cats came out. The three men didn't know their way around the forest nearly as well as Dustfinger did; he was sure they had gotten lost twice already. Throughout the entire trip they were constantly cursing the forest, and the fact that they had to drag Dustfinger behind them only made their moods even more unpleasant. Dustfinger had been kicked in the shins several times already. Finally they reached the place where Capricorn's fortress was.

It lay deep in the Wayless Woods where the first of the Giant tracks could be found. There were things even more terrifying that haunted the area, though. Things like Night-Mares, creatures who liked to scare their victims to death, and Redcaps.

The fortress sat on a gray slope, the same exact color as the stones it was built out of. There was a small castle with many houses in front of it where the men lived. In addition, there was also a twenty foot wall that started at one side of the castle and ended at the other side, surrounding the houses in a semicircle. Drawings of eyes and goats with flaming horns covered the walls. Men stood guard on top of the walls, on the watch tower, and in the stair wells. There were men everywhere, all wearing knives and swords at their belts.

It wasn't the men or the thought of Night-Mares that frightened Dustfinger though, as he was led up the path to this terrifying place, it was the sight of the gallows that stood on the left side of the fortress. People hung from every single one of the eight gallows. He even recognized two of them to be Motley Folk, but didn't know them personally.

They stopped in front of the large wooden gate and the redhead, who Dustfinger now knew was called Firefox, banged on one of its doors.

A mocking voice came from the other side. "Yes, who is it?"

Firefox scowled. "You know perfectly well who it is, Pitch-Eater. Now let us in, we have someone Capricorn wants very much, and if he asks us why it took us so long I'll be sure to let him know it was your fault if you don't let us in right this minute!" He screamed the last part and shook his fist at the gate.

"Geez, Firefox, no need to threaten me!"

There was the sound of latch being slid over the gate and then they opened with a loud creak.

The man, who, apparently, was called Pitch–Eater was very tall with short greasy hair. "So, this is the fire-eater Capricorn sent for?" He asked, as the small group walked through the gateway. Instead of answering, Firefox merely grunted.

_Why does Capricorn want me so badly? I've never even met him before,_ Dustfinger wondered.

They led Dustfinger down a narrow street in between all the houses, which were very similar to a charcoal burner's hut, only they were squared instead of circular. There were many more men on the inside than on the outside, some of them were patching roofs and others simply just walking down the street. As they got closer to the small castle, Dustfinger started to smell a strange odor in the air that he couldn't identify.

They reached the base of the small castle and they led him through a set of double doors. Inside were three long tables with long benches set on either side of them.

_This must be where they eat their meals,_ he thought.

He was marched past the benches to the other side of the room and they went through yet another door.

The room they entered was very large, capable of holding at least one hundred people. Capricorn and two other men were at the front of this room.

Dustfinger was very good at hiding his true emotions; he had practiced it almost as much as he had practiced playing with fire, but now, remembering all the stories told about Capricorn, his hands began to shake violently.

They were only a few feet from him now. Dustfinger could see that Capricorn looked exactly the way people described him: white as a sheet of paper, with eyes that were the color of water.

Dustfinger could see that the shorter of the two men with Capricorn was wearing a white shirt under his black jacket and had a habit of narrowing his eyes. The other man was of average height and had a slightly slumped back.

Capricorn was talking to them in a low voice, so Dustfinger couldn't hear what he was saying. He stopped when he noticed them in the room.

"Ah, so you've returned from the forest," he said in a dark voice.

"Yes, and we found the fire-eater you wanted," Cockerell said.

Capricorn nodded and turned to look at Dustfinger. It was a look that a hunter would give an animal caught in his trap. "I suppose you don't know why I've had my men bring you here?"

Dustfinger shook his head and plucked up the courage to say, "Why have you brought me here?" It came out in a whisper. He knew if he spoke any louder that it would betray his fear.

"My request is very simple; teach me how to play with fire."

Dustfinger stared at him in disbelief. "Huh?"

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**Tell me what you think. Believe me the best encouragement for a author is reviews whether they are good or bad. R&R**


	4. Chapter 4: Putting on a Show

**A/N:This chapter is fairly short. Basically Dustfinger is just proving to Capricorn what he can do. Which reminds me of something Capricorn said in the movie. "Go into the kitchen and get something for your burns or else we'll have to cancel our weekly juggle night. You know how much I look forward to juggle night." Or something like that. **

**Disclaimer: Inkheart is not mine...unfortunately.**

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**Chapter Four**

**Putting on a show**

"I think his meaning was pretty clear," Flatnose growled impatiently.

Dustfinger glared at Flatnose. Only when Capricorn continued did he fully understand.

"My men have been having certain problems controlling fire, and I've heard that you are a superb fire-eater. Some people even say that you can talk to it, but I'm not interested in that. No, I only want to know how to control it."

Dustfinger's mind went back what the Strong Man had said a few days earlier._ …Three of Capricorn's men have died already._

"But first, your're going to have to prove your skills to me. You are going to perform for myself and my men. If you are as talented as everyone says then you'll stay here to teach me how to play with fire, but if it appears that your talents were exaggerated, well, then..."

"Then?" Dustfinger asked tentatively.

Capricorn smiled unpleasantly and answered, "Then we'll get rid of you like we do all useless things." Dustfinger shifted nervously from foot to foot. Capricorn then signaled to the three men surrounding Dustfinger."Take him to the courtyard and give him everything he needs."

He gulped as he was carried away; he didn't like some of the nasty sneers he was receiving.

Dustfinger felt sick with anxiety as he stood in the courtyard._ If I don't do well, I die, and if I do perform well I still might die._

It looked like almost all of Capricorn's bloodhounds were there to see him perform. Even his maidservants were there. Capricorn was in the very front of them all.

"Alright, Dustfinger, let's see what you can do."

Dustfinger lit one of the torches they had given him. He ran over his bare arms and let it lick up at his face. He whispered a few well chosen words and a fiery tongue shot out over the audience. Dustfinger normally would have lit more torches and juggled them but knew that Capricorn would be more impressed with some of his other tricks. He spat out a fireball, causing everyone to back up. Fiery flowers sprang up at his feet and grew until they were level with his knees. Dustfinger clapped his hands and the flowers burst into sparks.

More out of habit then of courtesy, he bowed at Capricorn's men and then straightened up to look around.

Some faces were utterly amazed, and others seemed frightened.

"It seems," Capricorn said, "That everyone was right about you. Your arms and face aren't even red."

He turned to the two men he was with when Dustfinger arrived. "Take him to the tower."

Without a word they seized him by the arms. The crowd parted as the two men led Capricorn's prisoner away.

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**The next chapter might take a while I still have to type it up along with another story I'm working on. R&R**


	5. Chapter 5: Time with the Fire Raisers

**Yes I did sort of rush through the first chapter but that was because I only had ten minutes to write it before I had to go to bed. Also I'd like to apologize for the second chapter, I copied and pasted it to the document uploader so that's probably why it is such a mess, unfourtunately I have no way of fixing it. **

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**Chapter Five**

**Spending Time With**

**The Fire-Raisers**

The tower in which they put Dustfinger had several rooms in it. There were four floors with two rooms on each one, except the fourth floor wich had only one room. That was where they put Dustfinger.

The thin man who wore the white shirt unlocked the door and shoved Dustfinger inside. It was a small circular room, with a barred window facing the door and apile of moldt straw underneath it. He walked over to the window and gripped the bars so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His window gave him a good view of the darkening forest, as if to tantalize him with what he couldn't have.

Dustfinger wondered what the Black Prince was going to think when he found out he had been captured by the fire - raisers. Hadn't he warned him that very same day to be cautious? But, no, he had been careless and forgot to listen for the footsteps of others. _If I get out of this, I'll never be that careless again_, he swore to himself.

He sighed deeply and flopped down on the pile of hay under the window. He thought about the way best to confront Capricorn, he wasn't about to reveal all of his secrets. Like fire-elve's honey for instances, they probably weren't bright enough to really understand how to use it and even if they did Dustfinger didn't want to be responsible for the havoc that they would wreak.

He sighed and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long day tomorow.

Dustfinger was woken by the sound of his cell door banging against the wall. The two men from the previous night walked in. The humpbacked one smiled maliciously at him. "Rise and shine fire-eater! Capricorn says that Basta and me are to give you a graphic detail of what will happen to you should you refuse him your services."

Basta folded his arms and pretended to think for a moment.

"Hmm, let's see, there's the finger nail extracter,the rack, and of course there's always my knife," he said,taking it out of it's sheath.

"Sorry to ruin your fun," Dustfinger said briskly. "But none of that will be necessary."

Basta reluctantly sheathed his knife and smiled nastily at him. He seemed to always narrow his eyes when he smiled.

"We'll see," he said in a soft cat like voice.

"Come on Basta," the humpback said. "You know Capricorn doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Yes, alright Humpedback."

Basta drew his sword and pointed it at Dustfinger. "Get moving."

Dustfinger got up, stiff from sleeping on the floor and followed Humpedback out the door with Basta following behind him.

They walked back the same way he had been brought the courtyard and into the huge room where he presumed was where Capricorn discussed his filthy plans.

When Dustfinger entered the room Capricorn was sitting at the only table in the entire room with Flatnose and Cockerell standing close by.

"Ah, Dustfinger," he said rising from the chair. He was wearing a dark red shirt and a red doublet.

"Now I want you to tell me all you secrets about fire and if you should refuse you will regret it. I'm sure Basta has told you our methods of extracting information."

Basta caressed his knife at these words.

Dustfinger folded his arms. All of his secrets? He was supposed to tell him all of his secrets? He hated the very thought of it, but knew there was no other choice.

_Besides,_ he told himself, _you already decided last night not to tell him about the fire-elves honey and he has no way of knowing about that._

"Is that going to be a problem," Capricorn asked when Dustfinger still didn't say anything.

"No."

"Good, now tell me, how do you control your fires?"

Dustfinger sighed deeply, he was going to regret this.

"Well first of all I never light a fire when it's windy. The wind will play with it and cause it to get out of hand."

Dustfinger was kept prisoner by Capricorn for two weeks. Capricorn didn't call for him every day, it was more like every other day, but it was always in the early morning. He was brought two meals a day by a maid named Rose, there was always a black jacket with her, usually Basta.

Rose would always sit and wait for him to finish eating because Basta and the other black jackets didn't like to make a lot of trips up the tower. Rose and him talked while he ate and they became friends. She told him that Capricorn's men had set fire to her home and took her away while it burned

"What about your family," he asked when she told him.

"I don't know," she said in a small, sad voice.

It was like that for many of the maids, kidnapped while their house or village burned. Dustfinger met Capricorn again at the end of the two weeks.

"I don't need you anymore," he said in an indifferent tone. "I know all I need to know."

"So what now," Dustfinger asked bitterly. "Are you going to kill me?"

Basta, Flatnose, Cockerell, and the other black jackets looked eagerly at Capricorn. Dustfinger didn't have to be a mind reader to know that they were all hoping for a yes.

"No, you've been good so I think I'll spare you."

Dustfinger breathed an inward sigh of relief but became wary again when Capricorn began to smirk.

"In fact I'll even let you come to the execution tomorrow before releasing you."

Before Dustfinger could say anything Capricorn made a sign and Dustfinger was taken away by Basta and Flatnose.

"Well, you certainly lucked out fire-eater," Flatnose said when they were out of the room and in the courtyard.

"Yea," Basta agreed. "You get to live _and _see the execution tomorrow.

Dustfinger made no comment, he didn't think seeing someone get killed was a good thing.

"So, who's the poor devil getting strung up," he asked.

"Oh, just some forester who's been giving us some trouble," Basta answered casually. "And he's not being strung up, the shadow is going to kill him."

Dustfinger nearly stopped in his tracks. "The shadow?" They were now outside the cell door.

"Ohe yes you're in for a special treat tomorrow," said Flatnose as Basta unlocked the door.

Basta pushed him roughly inside and slammed the door. Dustfinger lay down on the straw and tried to remember all the stories he had heard about the shadow. All he could remember was that it came whenever Capricorn called it and that it's very breath brought death. Dustfinger felt pity well up inside of him for the man who was to be executed

His spirits rose however, when he thought about how, by tomorrow night hopefully, he would be back and free in the Wayless Wood. He wasn't too sure of that when Rose came in though.

As usual he smiled at her when she came in carrying the bowl of sticky porridge. "I heard you were going to be at the execution tomorrow," she said handing him the bowl of porridge.

"Yes it's not something I'm looking forward to, though. Have you ever been to one?"

She shook her head. "No, but the men keep talking about. The beasts." There was no mistaking the disgust in her voice.

Rose sat down next to him and whispered quietly, so that Basta outside the door would not hear. "I also heard the men saying that Capricorn told them that as soon as you left it was open season on you."

Dustfinger stopped eating. It was definetly bad news, but not surprising.

"They would have tried to kill me whether Capricorn said so or not. You should have seen their faces when he said he was oing to let me go."

"But a few of them are planning to ambush you in the forest," she whispered anxiously.

"Don't wory about it," he reassured her. "I'll think of something."

"Alright," she said, but Dustfinger could tell she was unconvinced.

When he was done eating Rose took the bowl and left, but not before casting him another worried glance.

Dustfinger laid down on the straw. He was sure he could escape the ambush if he didn't use the direct route through the forest. Dustfinger closed his eyes. He was definiantly not looking forward to the execution tomorrow.

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**Dun, dun, dun!Suspense. Okay I have spring break next week, so around that time is probably when there will be another chapter. Stay tuned! R&R.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry about the long wait. I know I said I would update during my spring break, but I became addicted to boy meets world(anyone remember that show?) So any way here it is.. Ta da!**

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Chapter Six

Execution Day

Dustfinger awoke at dawn. No one came for him the entire day and so he spent most of his time gazing out the window or thinking of how to escape the ambush that was to follow the execution. Basta and Flatnose did finally come for him just when the first stars were coming out.

"Alright, time to go fire-eater," Basta said, holding the door open.

Dustfinger eagerly stepped out of the room and followed the two men. Freedom was so close now. All he had to do was get through this execution.

Dustfinger could clearly see that they had prepared for the execution. There were tapestries on the usually bare walls and when they got out into the courtyard there were three long tables set up, one went horizontally and two went vertically so that they were almost arranged in the shape of an E except that there was no third line in the middle. Instead there was a wooden cage, set in between the two vertical tables and right in front of the horizontal one. Inside of the cage was a man who was very tall, with dark brown hair, and looked to be about thirty. The man had a look of pure hatred on his face.

"You're to sit over there," said Basta, indicating the chair at the end of the horizontal table. "And you're to stay there until Capricorn gives you permission to leave. Understand?"

Dustfinger nodded and strolled over to the table, but as he was pulling out the chair he accidentally bumped into someone.

"Watch it," the man growled turning around to face Dustfinger. He was only a few years older than Dustfinger himself, probably about eighteen. The man was very skinny with cold grey eyes, and a voice that oddly reminded Dustfinger of oversweet cakes. He had heard of this man before, he was Capricorn's minstrel. The Piper.

Dustfinger muttered an apology and was about to sit down when the Piper said, "So you're the fire-eater who everybody praises so much?" The Piper looked him up and down with disdain. "I have to say I expected you to be bigger, instead you're just some skinny boy. I suppose it's a good thing that you can play with fire so well otherwise you wouldn't last long."

Dustfinger looked him up and down with equal disdain, taking in his shabby black clothes.

"Well you're not much either. It didn't take much for Capricorn to tame you, now did it?"

The Piper scowled and took a threatening step towards him. "Careful fire-eater," he hissed. "As soon as you leave these walls you're fair game" Then he turned around and walked off.

Oh wonderful, Dustfinger thought. One more person who wants to kill me.

Soon every one filled up the tables, including the maids who all sat at a separate table from the men. There wasn't enough room for the younger boys so they had to squat down in front of the tables. Capricorn was the last to sit down. He sat right in the middle of the horizontal table, directly facing the man in the cage. Then Capricorn stood up and began to speak.

"Most of you know why we're here. This man has been giving us a great deal of trouble and I think that it's time that the Shadow put him out of his misery."

The men at the tables cheered, but soon grew quiet as a dark, smoky figure began to rise out of the ground in front of the cage. The torches flickered slightly and the Shadow grew until it was the size of a giant child and its eyes glowed red. Another emotion had replaced the hate on the man's face as he saw the end coming near. Fear

Dustfinger could also see fear written on everyone else's faces, including the men.

Well I guess even Capricorn's own men are afraid of the shadow, he thought smugly, even though he himself was gripping the edges of his seat so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

The Shadow turned its head and looked at Capricorn. Wordlessly Capricorn pointed to the man in the cage. The Shadow turned its head again and looked at the man for a moment and then reached out its arm toward him. The man let out a scream as the Shadows arm came into contact with him, but it was soon stifled when smoke entered every opening in his head. Pretty soon the Shadow's arm had completely covered the man. The Shadow pulled back its arm and the man dropped like a rock, his eyes wide. Then the Shadow disappeared at a sign from Capricorn and the men cheered.

Dustfinger was still gripping the edges of his seat tightly, eyes glued to the dead man, he didn't even notice the men beginning to go inside. He jumped when someone tapped him on the shoulder, tearing his eyes away from the dead man he turned around to see Rose standing behind the chair.

"Capricorn says that you are free to go, and to use one of the side doors to leave," she said, pointing to a door behind them along the one of the walls of the fortress.

Dustfinger stood up. "Thank you," he said warmly, and then began walking away when Rose reached out and gently touched his arm. Dustfinger turned his head to look at her.

"Be careful," she said quietly.

Dustfinger smiled encouragingly, and then left through the side door instantly on the lookout for any of Capricorn's men.

You should have been paying attention to the men and seen which of them had left the fortress, he thought to himself. Now he had no idea who he was looking out for.

Soon he was in the forest, but instead of it bringing him joy it only brought fear. Fear of who might be lying in wait for him. He was constantly looking around for the men. He wasn't that far into the forest when he heard the voices. He could still just barely see the fortress through the trees.

"You think he might have taken a different route," said one voice, which Dustfinger recognized as Cockerel's.

"Naa, this is the way we brought him so he'll probably come back this way," said Flatnose.

"I told you guys we should have just followed him out here it would've been easier," Basta complained.

Instinctively, Dustfinger took a step back, but tripped and fell into some bushes.

"Did you hear that," said Flatnose.

Dustfinger quickly hid behind a large tree to his right, praying that his pounding heart wouldn't give him away. He could hear the footsteps getting closer, could hear them looking in bushes and around trees. Dustfinger thought he was dead for sure when a fairy flew past him. An idea came to him and he quietly called it over. Quickly Dustfinger spoke to the fairy in its own language, he told her how she reminded him of the fairies he had set free in the marketplace and he asked her if she would shrink him and carry him as far away as she could. Grateful to him for freeing her fellow fairies, she put to two tiny hands on his chest and Dustfinger found the forest getting bigger and bigger, soon a blade of grass was as tall as a tree. He only came up to the fairies waist. The fairy easily scooped him up into her arms and flew away with him.

Dustfinger wasn't sure how long the fairy had been carrying him when she landed on the ground and put him down. She reached down and placed her hands on his chest and he rapidly grew back to his normal size. He thanked the small fairy by giving her a lock of his hair. As the fairy flew away Dustfinger marveled at how big the trees still seemed even after having been shrunk. Looking around Dustfinger quickly recognized the area he was in. It was only a mile or two from the brownie caves, so he decided to walk there and camp out near in the trees that surrounded the caves in case he needed a place to hide.

Dustfinger's stomach growled loudly as he went to check the trap he had set. He hadn't eaten since early morning and that a rabbit and gotten caught. Dustfinger became excited when he saw something small and furry struggling in his trap, but then disappointment came crashing down on him when he saw it wasn't a rabbit but a marten.

"Well, I certainly can't eat you now can I," he said softly to the struggling marten, who curiously had little horns in between its ears. Intrigued, Dustfinger freed the little brown marten, narrowly avoiding its snapping jaws. Chattering angrily the marten dropped to the ground, but then began sniffing curiously around Dstfinger's ankles, its nose raised slightly upwards. Dustfinger smiled and took out the small piece of bread he had been saving from his pocket and offered it to the marten, who greedily snapped it from his fingers.

The next morning when Dustfinger woke up he saw the marten curled up near him. When he set out the marten followed him, though Dustfinger suspected it was more to of its liking for his food than for him. None the less Dustfinger decided to keep the marten as a pet and named him Gwin.

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**Poor Dustfinger, he makes one smart remark and suddenly the Piper wants to kill him. Tell me what you think and review. And be sure to stay tuned for the next chapter where Dustfinger finally gets to... well I probably shouldn't give anything away :)**


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter Seven

Dustfinger spent two days in the Wayless Wood until he finally reached the Inn of the Strolling Players where he hoped to find out where everyone was camped out.

As usual the inside of the inn was poorly lit except for the 'windows' that let in a few rays of sunlight. Dustfinger looked around the shabby inn for a familiar face until he spotted Crookback and Sootbird sitting at a table next to one of the windows. Though he wasn't necessarily friends with either of them he knew that they would know where the others were camped out at the moment. Dustfinger strolled over to the table and sat next to Crookback.

"Mind if I join you," he asked the two men.

Both of them stared at Dustfinger in shock as if they were seeing a ghost until Crookback cried out happily, "Dustfinger! We thought that the fire-raisers had strung you up once we heard they had captured you."

Dustfinger smiled. Crookback had always been a cheerful fellow who could stand on his head longer than any other strolling player he had known.

"No they didn't do anything like that. Not that they didn't try once I had served my purpose to their master."

Sootbird looked at him curiously. "Capricorn wanted you for something?"

Dustfinger looked away uncomfortably. He didn't want to admit that he had, in any way, helped Capricorn. "Yes."

"Did it have anything to do with the way you can control fire," Sootbird asked, pressing for more information. For once there was no envy in the other man's eyes.

_He's probably glad for once that he can't play with fire as well as I can,_ Dustfinger thought.

"I'd rather not talk about it," he said. Turning to Crookback he asked, "Do you know where the others are camped out at?"

Crookback nodded. "There at this town about an hour north of here. Sootbird and I are going to rest here for the night then follow them in the morning. You could come with us if you like."

"I'd rather head out right away."

Crookback nodded as if he had expected his answer. "Alright then, just follow the road north and after about an hour you should see a smaller road on your left that leads to the town."

Dustfinger thanked him and quickly left the inn and headed for the town.

It was almost noon when Dustfinger set eyes on the town. It wasn't very large just like all the other towns, but it did have a market place where the strolling players might earn a few coins. Dustfinger spotted the tents set up by the Motley Folk almost immediately. They weren't far off from the low wall that surrounded the town. There weren't many strolling players among the tents, just a few women and children; everyone else was probably in the town performing or buying supplies. Dustfinger decided to go in to town and make a few coins himself.

As Dustfinger got closer to the center of town where he presumed the market place was he could hear the sound of a woman singing. The closer he got the more mesmerizing it became. When he did reach the market place there was a crowd of people in the center, curious to see the owner of the beautiful voice he climbed on top of a barrel standing next to a nearby stall (the owner was currently staring into the crowd, just as mesmerized by the voice as everyone else). Once on top of the stall he could see the woman singing. She was dancing to the rhythm of the song she was singing, with such grace that all Dustfinger could do was stare in awe. She had long dark hair that looked like it had been darkened with charcoal and her eyes were just as dark. Those eyes fell on him briefly before turning back to the crowd. Dustfinger had never seen a more beautiful woman, just that one glance made him feel weak at the knees.

" Well look who it is!"

It took a second for Dustfinger to pull his sight away from the Motley woman to look down at the source of the voice. He turned around to the see the Black Prince looking up at him with his bear behind him of course. Grinning, Dustfinger hopped down from the barrel to face his friend.

The Prince smiled at him. "Glad to see you back from the fire-raisers fortress and in one piece I see. What did I say about being careful though?"

"They snuck up on me," he answered meekly.

"Oh? Were you paying attention to your surroundings when this happened?"

"Not really."

The Black Prince sighed and shook his head, then asked in a serious voice, "What was it they wanted you for?"

"Capricorn wanted me to teach him how to play with fire," he answered, while absentmindedly tickling a drowsy Gwin, who had just poked is head out of his pack. "So I did."

The Prince didn't say anything; he just looked off into the distance, no doubt thinking over what harm this might have caused.

"So who was the woman that was singing," Dustfinger asked out of curiosity and to change the subject.

The Prince looked at him at grinned. "Oh so you noticed her did you?"

Dustfinger shrugged and kept his face completely blank. The Prince's grin widened.

"Her name is Roxane and she has possibly one of the most beautiful voices you will ever hear. As you can see it draws her many admirers," he said nodding in the direction where Roxane stood with one man talking to her adamantly and many others two or three others staring at her with love struck expressions.

While looking at Roxane and thinking of how she dances Dustfinger had the sudden urge to perform.

"Watch my pack for me," he told the Prince. "Make sure to keep it away from the bear though," he added after thinking of the marten.

He stepped out into the middle of the market then began making the flames dance. When he was done he cupped his hands and a ball of fire appeared above them. He blew into the ball of fire causing a tongue of fire to come out and twirl over his head.

When he stopped blowing the fire dissipated. Everyone clapped as Dustfinger walked toward where the Prince stood. When he got there he saw the Prince standing with Roxane and talking.

Dustfinger's heart began beating faster when Roxane looked at him.

"Roxane this is Dustfinger," The Prince said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

She smiled. "Hello."

Dustfinger's heart began hammering so hard that he was surprised no one could hear it. He returned her smiled with one of his own. "Hello."

"I thought people were just exaggerating when they talked about your skills with fire, but you're just as good as everyone says you are."

"Thank you."

"Roxane will be traveling with our group with to Ombra," the Prince said, grinning at him.

Dustfinger narrowed his eyes at him, knowing that he was going to try to set him up with her.

"I have to go buy some supplies. It was nice meeting you," she said, smiling again.

"You too."

Dustfinger watched her as she walked away into the crowd. The Prince put his arm around his shoulder.

"Beautiful isn't she?"

Dustfinger glared at his old friend. "Don't even think about it," he warned.

The Prince put his hands up in defense. "I'm not doing anything," he said in a fake innocent voice.

Dustfinger rolled his eyes; still he couldn't help but feel secretly pleased at the thought of traveling and spending time with Roxane.

**If you're wondering why there are two lines at the top of the page and on under this note it is because I forgot how to pt the text above or below the line. If anyone's interest I wrote this chapter to "Dance Inside" by the All-American Rejects. For some reason the song just really reminds me of Dustfinger and Roxane. Since I made you guys wait so long for this Chapter I'm going to give you the preview for the next one.**

**It's Prince Cosimo's third birthday party so of course the Motely folk are invited to provide entertainment. Dustfinger is enjoying every second he spends with Roxane and all seems to be going well.....that is until Dustfinger, the Black Prince, and Roxane run into a few uninvited guests.**

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	8. Chapter 8

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** Alright guys, in an attempt to update faster I have decided to make my chapters shorter. I haven't said this before, but thank you to everyone who has reviewed added this to their favorites or alerts, your support is much apreciated.**

**Uhh, I haven't done this yet either but I think I should. **

**Disclaimer: They're all mine I stole them from Cornelia Muhahaha *evil laugh*. No....wait.....curses Cornelia stole them back from me, so I guess she owns everything.**

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Chapter Eight

Dusfinger and the Black Prince easily mad their way through the throng of people going into the outer courtyard of the Laughing Prince's castle. This was mostly due to the fact that everyone kept their distance from the Black Prince's bear. Roxane followed close behind them.

Roxane and Dustfinger had spent a good amount of time talking and exchanging stories as they traveled. No matter how much they talked though Roxane still couldn't quite figure him out. The way he seemed to talk with fire and how at ease he was in the forest. Even his smile seemed to mystify her.

Stalls were set up along the walls of the outer courtyard and in the middle was a platform with two chairs on it for the Laughing Prince and his young son Cosimo.

"You should find yourself a spot fast Dustfinger," the Prince warned. "The courtyard is filling up fast."

Dustfinger shrugged. "I don't need to claim a spot as soon as I light my first torch people will make way for me soon enough. I'm going to get myself something to eat for myself and Gwin first though."

Roxane looked at him in surprise. "You feed Gwin some of your own food?"

He turned around and flashed her that mysterious smile of his.

"Of course. It wouldn't be nice of me to eat in front of him and not give him any."

The Black Prince let out a laugh,but Roxane said nothing in response.

"You're free to join us of course."

Roxane looked at Dustfinger in surprise. "You want me to eat with you?"

He shrugged. "I just thought you might like something to eat, but if you don't want to.."

"I want to, I mean it would be best to eat now when the food is still hot." She said this all hurriedly causing Dustfinger to raise an eyebrow at her. Roxane couldn't help it though, she had been afraid she had offended him.

The Black Prince turned to her and grinned.

"Keep an eye on him for me will you? I can't watch him all the time and he seems to have an uncanny knack for getting in trouble."

Dustfinger elbowed him playfully.

"I have to go there are a few people that I need to talk to," the Prince said, bidding them farewell.

"Well then," Dustfinger said, turning to Roxane, "shall we?"

Roxane smiled and they walked to one of the nearby stands that was selling bread and cheese. They leaned against the wall behind the stall and ate while watching some of their fellow Strolling Players perform, including Sootbird who failed miserably as usual.

"I wonder why he doesn't try another profession," Roxane mused.

Dustfinger shrugged. "Perhaps he doesn't want to try another one. He juggles torches fine though he can't play with fire at all."

He finished his last bite of food and brushed off his fingers. 'I'm going to earn a few coins now."

Roxane nodded and Dustfinger began walking away, but had to quickly step to the side to avoid a running child causing him to run into a group of three men. She could see his back stiffen as the three men leered at him.

Roxane couldn't understand why the men were glaring at him so intensely just for accidentally bumping into them, or why Dustfinger had gone so stiff. Didn't he know that no one would cause any trouble at of the Laughing Prince's festivities?

What she didn't know was that Dustfinger hadn't run into just any men. He had accidentally bumped into three of Capricorn's men.

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**And there you have it folks chapter eight. It was kinda a cliffie I guess, but do not fear, I will update......eventually(seriously I still have to study for my history mid-term). Before I froget Pimk Pigeon has an Inkheart RPG if anyone is interested. It's only her and me on there so needless to say it would be a lot more fun with more people**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ok this chapter was supposed to be up weeks ago but unfortunately I came down with a case of strep throat, which caused me to miss school. Luckily though I'm on spring break though and had ime to finish it. **

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Chapter Nine

Dustfinger felt a sinking sensation as he stood there staring at the three fire-raisers. They were all dressed in normal peasant clothing rather than their usual black attire. They stood there leering at him, hands at their belts, where each one had knives.

He recognized all three of them. Of course, the one with a lyre was the Piper, and then there was Flatnose and Cockerel.

"Well, if it isn't the fire-eater," the Piper sneered.

"You sure did leave fast after the execution," Flatnose remarked.

At this Dustfinger had to smile. He was sure Flatnose was thinking of their failed attempt to kill him. "Yes, well I'm afraid that I didn't much enjoy your master's hospitality."

"Isn't that a shame," the Piper said, glaring at him with his cold, grey eyes.

"Dustfinger."

Dustfinger felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Roxane standing beside him. His heart began beating faster at her touch.

"Is everything alright? Who are these men?"

"We're just a couple of old friends from Capricorn's fortress," Cockerel answered.

Roxane's eyes widened. Whether in fear or in surprise Dustfinger couldn't tell.

"Give my regards to your master," Dustfinger told them, before turning, and walking away, making sure the crowd swallowed him up so they couldn't see where he was going. Roxane followed him. When he stopped behind a merchant's stall, she stared accusingly at him.

"You've worked with Capricorn?"

"Not of my own free will," he said defensively.

Her face softened a bit at that, and she crossed her arms. "You know they're not going to leave you alone, right?"

"Yes, I'm aware of that."

"What are you going to do?"

Dustfinger looked around and spotted the Piper playing his lute. He then saw a few of The Laughing Prince's men-at-arms, standing not too far off.

He smiled to himself. "Oh, I'll think of something."

The Piper finished his song, and stood as people threw gold coins into his bowl. He picked up the bowl, counted the gold coins, and sighed. He felt the life of a minstrel was demeaning, but the money he got from public performances and Capricorn did make him a little richer than most minstrels. Flatnose and Cockerel strolled over.

"So, how much did you make," Cockerel asked.

The Piper shrugged. "Enough. How was cutting purses?"

"Shhhh!" Flatnose hissed, looking around to make sure no one heard. "Someone might hear. I don't want the men-at-arms coming after us."

The Piper rolled his eyes. "Oh, please. Do you really think the men-at-arms give a damn if you cut a few peasants purses? Or even a few lord's, for that matter?"

"The worst they'd do to us is make us give them some of the money," Cockerel said. "We could burn down Ombra and they wouldn't give a rat's ass."

"Then why did we dress in as peasants," Flatnose demanded.

"Because," Cockerel explained, "People would be a lot more suspicious of us if we wore our normal clothes. It'd make it harder to cut the purses."

[1]

The three men were so absorbed in their argument that they did not notice the five men-at-arms until they were surrounded.

"Well, well, what do we have here," said one of them, a man who had brown hair and a graying beard.

The Piper feigned a look of confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"Don't play dumb with me fire-raiser," the soldier growled. "We've been well informed of who you three are. You think you can sneak in here and cause trouble at the Prince's party? I think not."

The soldier made a signal and the other men-at-arms grabbed the three fire-raisers.

"I told you not to say anything," Flatnose whined.

"Shut up," the Piper and Cockerel snapped in unison.

Hours later, when everyone was filing out of the courtyard the three fire-raisers were still in the pillory.

Dustfinger, Roxane, and the Prince stood at the side of the main road watching the three. It hadn't been very hard to convince the guards into putting them in the pillory. All Dustfinger had to do was make a few comments to the guards about the fire-raisers trying to cause trouble, and of course paying them a few gold coins had helped.

"Maybe we should go over and say hi to them," the Prince suggested, grinning mischievously.

"You can do that," Dustfinger said, "but they already want to kill me so I don't plan on aggravating them any further."

The Black Prince shrugged. "Suit yourself." He turned and walked over toward the pillory, yelling out an insult to the three men.

Dustfinger sighed and shook his head at his friend's impertinence.

"Well, this has been an interesting day," Roxanne mused.

"Sure you want to keep associating yourself with a couple of trouble makers like the Prince and I," Dustfinger joked.

Roxanne lifted her chin proudly, and said, "I think I can handle myself."

She then turned and began heading down the street. "I'll see you tomorrow," she called over her shoulder.

Dustfinger held up a hand in farewell, his heart hammering in his throat as he watched her go.

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**So tell me what you think. The next chapter will partially be from the Black Prince's point of view. By the way, has anyone noticed the lack of Black Prince fics? Anyway, Basta will be around more in later chapters, just in case you're wondering. **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Alright I'm not sure how long it's been since my last update. The fic wasn't in my document uploader, so at least two months? I had planned to wrap this story up over the summer, but I ended up doing nothing. So I have three weeks left of my vacation, two of which I'll be out of town, meaning I'm going to spend all next week trying to write as much as I can. I want to try to finish a certain story arc before I go back to school. Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing, and this story to your alerts/favorites.**

**Chapter songs: Fight the Good Fight(Triumph), You Can't Take Me(Brian Adams), Get Off Of My Back(Brian Adams)**

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Chapter Ten

Enough is Enough

The Black Prince leaned against a tree on the outskirts of the Motley Folk camp. It was night and the moon was high in the sky, by now most people were in bed even the Motley folk, who tended to stay up late into the night.

His bear sat beside him, as loyal as any dog. The bear would have already drifted off to sleep by now but tonight he had decided to stay up with his master, perhaps because he could feel the impatience and indignity rolling off of him. Earlier that day one of his friends had told him about the murder of a Motley Folk family near a small village an hour away from Ombra. Other Motley Folk had discovered the bodies. No one knew who killed them, but the Prince suspected Fire-Raisers were involved. It wouldn't be the first time they killed innocents for fun.

Of course no one investigated or even cared that a family of three were murdered. People would only think about how horrible it was then move on with their own lives, forgetting the dead and leaving those responsible unpunished. The Black Prince decided that enough was enough.

He was sick of hearing about all the Adderhead's cruel deeds against the peasants and especially the Strolling Players. He was also sick of the Fire-raisers causing terror everywhere they go and little being done about it. In stories you always heard about a person or group of people standing up to the injustices in the world, but never see it happen in real life. The Prince decided that it was time to make those stories come true.

He had gathered together a group of men who were also tired of being easy prey to men like the Adderhead and Capricorn. Together they had planned to fight back.

Now all the Prince had to do was wait. One of his men had gone off in the early evening to talk to a farmer who, apparently, had been having trouble with Capricorn because he refused to give him his two horses which were his prized possessions.

Finally the man appeared out of the woods to the Prince's right. He was a tall lanky young man whose face was unfortunately marred by pockmarks, but were usually hidden by the masks he wore in his plays.

"Well, Battista," the Prince asked as he approached.

"The man was told by Capricorn's men this morning that if he didn't give in he would wake up to a burning house in a few nights."

The Prince folded his arms and wrinkled his brow thoughtfully. "That doesn't give us much time then. We'll have stay near the farm while we think of a plan and have men watch the farm to warn us when they come."

Battista nodded. "Would you like me to tell the others?"

"Wait until morning," he said, suddenly realizing how tired he was.

Battista nodded again then headed off toward the camp, no doubt to rest. Suppressing a yawn the Prince followed him, while thinking of a way to prevent the Fire-Raisers from harming their next victim.

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**I realize that was very short and Black Prince centric, but I found it necessary in order to set up for the next chapter, which I plan on being long. Tell me what you think about the chapter and review. Until next time.**


	11. Chapter 11: the Prince's Battle

**Okay, so obviously I am unable to update regularly and I apologize for that. I just can't make any promises about when I will update. So for anyone still reading here is that long chapter I promised eons ago.**

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**Chapter eight**

Dustfinger woke early in the morning when the grass was still wet with dew. A few people were up though as Dustfinger exited his tent. He stretched his limbs and wandered off from the camp, heading towards the well that lay just outside the low wall surrounding the village. Some fairies were flying around it and Dustfinger ended up having to gently shoo them away from his hair as he brought a bucket of water up from the well.

"Morning." Dustfinger turned to see the Prince walking towards him with his bear naturally lumbering behind him.

"You're up early," Dustfinger observed, "especially when you couldn't have gone to bed until at least after midnight."

The Prince shrugged, walking up beside him and leaning against the well. "I couldn't get much sleep."

Dustfinger frowned at this but didn't say anything as he started to use the water in the bucket to wash his face Prince had been acting strange lately, always conversing with several men among the strolling players, not to mention going off during early in the evening and not returning until late at night when most of the players had already gone to bed. Dustfinger kept expecting him to say something but he just continued to look off into the distance with a contemplative expression.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "Something on your mind?"

The Prince looked over at him, arching one brow. "What makes you ask that?"

"Well you certainly don't seem to be here to chat or use the water," he said, lowering the bucket down into the well's dark waters. He turned from the well so he could face his friend fully. "I've know you long enough to know when something's going on with you. Now, what is it?"

The Prince stared at him for a moment before a small smile stole over his lips. "You do know me too well. Alright then, I suppose you've noticed that I seem to be meeting with a certain few of the strolling players lately?"

Dustfinger nodded. "Yes, as well as your late night excursions."

"I've formed a group with them. We're going to help those that everyone in power refuses to help. Starting with preventing a few fire-raiser attacks." The Prince's voice was calm but there was a fierceness in his eyes that Dustfinger recognized only too well. It was the same fierceness that always appeared when he saw children begging on the streets or an innocent person hanging from the gallows.

Dustfinger sighed, he should have suspected his friend would do something like this sooner or later. "If you've told me this for my opinion then I think you're being a noble fool, Prince. This isn't a minstrel's song, heroes die in real life, remember." Dustfinger thought back to when they were both children, performing in one of the larger villages in Argenta. There had been a man who had stolen money from one of the richest men in the village, distributing it among the women and children of the village and strolling players alike. Days later he was caught and they had seen his body hanging from the gallows as they left. He wondered if the Prince still remembered that.

However, the Prince just smiled at him. "I expected you say something like that, but I know the risks and I also know very well how to prevent myself from ending up on the wrong end of a rope. You probably know better than anyone that I'd be dead by now if the Adder knew half the things I've done."

"Still, if you want to play noble robber are you prepared to deal with the consequences if you get caught?"

"You mean death?" The Prince smiled the same smile Dustfinger had become so accustomed to while growing up. It was the smile he always wore when pulling some prank or making trouble for one of the soldiers. "Yes, I'm prepared to die if I get caught."

Dustfinger threw up his hands in defeat. "Fine, since you're so bent on signing your own death warrant I guess there's nothing else that I can say to change your mind. Honestly Prince, you have the heart of a child, death is probably an afterthought for you."

The Prince chuckled before his face grew serious. At first Dustfinger thought that the Prince was thinking about the consequences of what he was about to do then he spole up. "We're actually going to try to prevent a fire-raiser attack on a farm tonight," the Prince hesitated for a second before continuing,"we could use your help."

Dustfinger blinked a few times in surprise before being able to form a sentence. "Why? Do you really need to fight fire with fire? Not to mention I've already made a few enemies with the fire-raisers and..." Dustfinger trailed off at that, too ashamed to finish, to tell his friend that he was really to afraid to get himself involved in such matters.

"I realize what I'm asking," the Prince said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "but it's not fighting I want you for. I want you to create a barrier of fire between the fire-raisers and the farm. I'll understand if you don't want to help though."

No, he didn't but the thought of refusing to help his friend sent stabs of guilt in his heart. The Black Prince had always helped him get out of trouble all through their childhood, how could he refuse to help him when he really needed it? Then Dustfinger thought of the guilt that would follow him around for the rest of his life if the Prince was killed that night and he could have prevented it.

"Ok," he said, finally, "just tell me where to be though do expect me to wield a sword against any of those blood hounds."

The Prince's face broke out into a grin."Don't worry I'll leave you to do what you do best."

Dustfinger just shook his head. "I hope you know what you're about to do."

"Oh, I do, the fire-raisers won't know what hit them though."

* * *

The moon was high in the sky as Dustfinger crouched down near undergrowth surrounding the small little farm. He was just one in a group of about fifteen men crouched down among the trees and bushes. Naturally at the head of the group was the Prince, telling everyone the plan and where they should be.

"I want a group of six up at the house just in case any men get through our first layer of protection. The rest need to be at the base of the hill to keep the fire-raisers away. This is a smaller farm so there should be fewer men to deal with but none the less I want everyone to rub soot on their faces so any that get away won't recognize you on the street, understand?"

The men all nodded and got up to take their places. "Where do you want me," Dustfinger asked the Prince once they were all gone.

The Prince placed clapped him on the shoulder. "You I want up near the house by the second group of men, that way if any fire-raisers somehow get close enough to the field and house you can put down any flames they create that way the rest don't have to worry about it."

Dustfinger nodded. "Alright, but one thing has been bothering me. Capricorn is not one to give up easily, what are you going to do if he sends an even larger group of men to raze the farm, or worst decides to make an example of it and sends hi shadow?"

"I know, that's why I'm teaching the farmer and his family to hide their food and other neccesities. That way if worst comes to worse and Capricorn does send a larger group we can't defend against then at least they'll still have their valuables even if their property is burned down." He shrugged. "It's not perfect but for now that's the best I can come up with."

"It's more than most people would do." Dustfinger knew that it was more than he would do. In his heart he felt that he was a coward. If he saw that it was convenient he would help someone in need, but to go so far out of his way? No, he didn't think he could ever do that.

"We better take our places," the Prince said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Dustfinger gave a short nod then trodded off up the hill toward the group of men gathered near the house. He felt strangely light without the familiar weight of his pack. Deciding it would only hinder him he had decided to leave it at the player's camp and Roxane had agreed to look after it even though he could tell she detested Gwin who made his home in the pack. The though of Roxane caused a his heart to throb in a way that was both painful and pleasant. He wondered if he would see her again.

When he reached the group one of them stepped forward and shoved a knife into his hands. Dustfinger looked down at it in alarm. "What's this for?"

"Just in case your fire isn't enough to protect you," he said simply turning away before Dustfinger could protest.

Dustfinger had never liked knives or any other kind of weapon, most likely because of the years spent watching soldiers and criminals using them for their own means. He had never had any use for them anyway and hoped that he never would. Still looking at it with unease he stuck the knife in his belt. No, sooner had he done that did the men he stood with begin to stir and stare down the hill where the Prince and the rest of his men stood. He followed their line of sight and saw that the fire-raisers had arrived.

Capricorn hadn't sent many men, and of course why should he for such a small farm? There was only about ten of them from what Dustfinger could see. They were standing opposite the Prince's men among the treeline. Agitated voices carried up the hill though Dustfinger couldn't make out what they were saying. There was silence for a moment before the fire-raisers voices commenced again and Dustfinger could only assume that the Prince had said something. The conversation obviously didn't last long for he saw the unmistakable glint of swords being drawn in the dim moonlight. The Prince's bear let out a roar and the two groups clashed.

The men near Dustfinger watched the fight with bated breath, their own weapons in their hands. Dustfinger kept his eyes locked on the Prince, which would have been difficult with the dim light had the bear not been tearing at any enemy that got near him. The rest of the men seemed to be holding their own well enough though he did see a few go down causing his stomach to twist unpleasantly.

The Prince seemed to be battling one of the more talented fighters while his bear dispatched an enemy trying to charge him from the side. The Prince parried a blow and was about to deliver the final blow when Dustfinger caught sight of a fire-raiser coming at the Prince from behind. Dust finger quickly hissed a few words in fire causing flames to leap up between the man and the Prince.

The man dropped his sword in surprise just as the Prince delivered the final blow to the enemy in front of him. He turned when he felt the heat of the flames on his back and saw the man running in terror. The Prince looked up the hill and the flames illuminated his grin.

Dustfinger felt the tension leave his soldiers as he realized that all the fire-raisers had either been killed or ran. Then came the strange hissing sound and a gurgled cry to his right. Dustfinger looked down in surprise to see one the men lying on the ground with an arrow through his neck. The blood looked almost black in the night. Dustfinger barely even had time to register the horror of it as he heard the sound of running feet directly behind him. He turned along with the rest of the men to see another group of black jackets running up the hill toward them looking very much like a flock of crows in flight. Dustfinger stumbled back as the rest of the men ran to meet the fire-raisers. Down below the Prince and the others were quickly advancing up the hill to help the other group.

Dustfinger stood and with a shaking hand pulled the knife out of his belt though he handled it so clumsily he knew that it would be of little defense against one of the fire-raisers. The Prince and the others reached the top of the hill and began fighting along side the others. Dustfinger just stood back while the fight unfolded, watching as friend and foe alike fell. A few broke away from the fight, bearing torches and a bottle full of clear liquid that Dustfinger knew only too well.

He let out a curse. Of course, they were still going to try set the farm on fire despite the men ready to kill them if they did. Wouldn't want to dissapoint their master. One of them held out the torch while the other began to pour the liquid onto it. _This is it,_ Dustfinger though. _Time for me to play my part._

He looked around quickly to make sure none of the fire-raisers took any notice of him and then looked back to the two fire-raisers attempting to set the little house ablaze. He crept surreptiously to the front gate that was merely just a wooden fence and crouched down. His heart pounded in his chest as heard the battle that raged only ten feet away from him, and looked on at the two fire-raisers. One held the torch out as the other began to pour the clear liquid on it. When that was done the man who had doused the torch pulled out a piece of flint and with his knife began to strike it.

A few sparks rained out onto the torch and began to catch quickly but Dustfinger spoke to fire just as fast, willing it to stay asleep. The fire-raisers frown and tried again and DUstfinger again whispered what little flames to spring up to die back down. He saw their lips move but couldn't hear what they were saying, but judging by the expression on their faces they were probably letting out a stream of curses. Dustfinger pressed against one of the wooden posts wishing he could sind into it as one of them turned, gesticulating angrily. He tried to crouch lower to the ground but the movement caught the attention of the fire-raiser and his eyes locked onto Dustfinger.

The man drew his sword from his side and began to advanced toward him then stopped and smiled cruelly. Dustfinger frowned then felt the back of his neck prickle and turned just in time to see the fire-raiser behind him raise his sword. With a startled cry he rolled to his side just as the fire-raiser struck down with his sword managing to slice the side of Dustfinger's arm. He cried out in pain as the fire-raiser turned and advanced towards him once again, prompting him to quickly scramble to his feet and run in the opposite direction.

He headed down the hill toward the safety of the treeline where it would be difficult for the man to pursue him with a sword among the crowded trees. He wasn't he even sure that he was still being chased but he didn't dare look back to check, he just kept running and didn't stop until he was well into the forest where he fond refuge in the limbs of a tree, nimbly climbing up it in spite of his injured arm. As he lay against one of the gigantic limbs trying to catch his breath he listened for the sounds of footsteps and surveyed the ground below him for his pursuer. When a few minutes had past and still no one had come near his tree, Dustfinger let his body relaxed slightly and closed his eyes, trying to let the sounds of the forest soothe him and make him forget his fear and pain.

Dustfinger wasn't sure how long he laid like that when the sound of footsteps reached him. His eyes flew open and he expecting to see one of the fire-raisers appear below him when he heard a familiar voice calling out. "Dustfinger! Dustfinger, are you near?"

Relief flooded him at the sight of the Prince and his bear appaering through the foliage with another man with them.

"Should you really be calling out like that," asked the Prince's companion warily. "There's no telling if some of Capricorn's hounds are still around."

The Prince dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "I don't care he could be hurt or worse."

"Prince," Dustfinger called out, his voice sounding hoarse in his own ears. Both the Prince and the man jumped at the sound of his voice and began looking around for it's source.

"Over here." Dustfinger climbed down from his perch, wincing lightly at the pain in his arm.

Relief flooded the Prince's face when he saw him. "Thank god. When you didn't come back after I killed the man chasing you I was afraid one of the other fire-raisers had carried you of to their fortress."

Dustfinger slid down from one of the lower branches and landed lightly on his feet. "I didn't look back when he started to chase me so I just assumed I was still being pursued. Are they all dead?"

The Prince shook his head. "No, there were a few of them that ran away, so I'm sure Capricorn will be hearing about this sooner rather than later that's why we'll be keeping a close eye on the farm."

At the mention of the little farm house the image of the two men with the torches flashed before Dustfinger's eyes. "Did they manage to catch anything on fire?"

"Almost, after you left they managed to let some of their torches but we took care of them before they could do any damage," the Prince said.

"Unfortunately the man who was supposed to keep them from lighting anything ran away," the man standing next to the Black Prince remarked sourly.

Dustfinger felt shame rise up in him and it took everything he had not to look away from the man's accusing glare. "Yes, unfortunately the man he was supposed to keep the fire-raisers' flames sleepy couldn't defend himself against a sword with nothing but a knife. But I'm sure you could have, right?" Dustginer flashed him a mocking smile causing the man's glare to intensify.

"Dustfinger did what he was supposed to, he only did what anyone else would do in his place," the Prince told the man sharply. "Now, go tell the others to make camp near the farm and to establish a watch. We certainly don't need any re-grouped fire-raisers attacking us while we sleep." The man nodded shortly and walked off among the trees.

The Prince looked back at Dustfinger and the anger on his face turned back into concern. "You're bleeding." Dustfinger looked down at his arm to see blood running down it. "Do you have anything to bind it with?"

Dustfinger shook his head. "No, I would if I had my pack but I left it back at the camp with Roxane."

"I'm sure we'll be able to find something once we get back to the camp, speaking of which, we better start heading off."

Dustfinger nodded and together they walked off, the bear trailing behind them. The whole way Dustfinger kept trying to think of a way to apologize for running away but every time he was about to open his mouth his courage would fail him and he would remain silent. After arriving at the makeshift camp they were able to find a piece of material to bind his wound, though the Prince thought that they would probably have to cauterize it soon. With that lovely prospect in mind Dustfinger went to bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

The next day they set out and by night they had reached the strolling player's encampment. Once there Dustfinger and two other men who had been injured had to sit and frit their teeth while one of the motley folk's physicians cauterized their wounds. Afterwards, Dustfinger had happily wandered into one of the tents and lain down. He had never cared much for a home and had happily traveled the road all his life whether alone or in company it didn't matter. After the fight with the fire-raisers being surrounded by familiar faces and the colorful tents gave him a sense of contentment he was unfamiliar with.

"Dustfinger?" Had it been any other voice that called out to him he would have ignored it, but this melodious voice caused his eyes to fly right open..

He sat up and saw Roxane standing at the tent's entrance, the soft moonlight outlining her frame. "Yes?"

"I brought back your pack," she said holding it up for him to see. "Gwin was in it earlier but I think he's run off to hunt." Dustfinger grinned at the distaste in her voice when she mentioned Gwin.

"Yes, he does that every night. He usually comes scurrying back around dawn." He stood and took the bag from her, their hands just barely touching sending a spark of electricity through his hand.

"What happened to your arm," she asked. nodding to the bandage on his arm.

"I cut it," he said flatly, omitting the circumstances of how he got it. "One of the physicians had to cauterize it."

Roxane furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "Does it hurt?"

He shrugged. "A little."

"I think I know something that could make it better. Come on." She took him by the wrist and led him to the outskirts of the forest that lay only a short way from the camp. "Do you have a knife?"

Dustfinger smiled. "Why Roxane I hope you didn't drag me out here in the dark just to kill me."

She laughed. "Don't worry I'm no evil witch in disguise."

He pulled out the knife given to him by one of the Prince's men and handed it to her. She knelt down by a group of green prickly plants and cut of on of it's leaves, then sliced off the thorns along the edges and sliced it open revealing a green, gel-like substance inside. She gently removed the bandage on his arm and smeared some of the gel onto it.

"It'll help the burn heal faster and take some of the sting out," she explained.

"Thank you, this will definitely come in handy later with my career."

"Did you get this when you went out with the Black Prince and those other man," she asked somewhat abruptly.

Dustfinger avoided her gaze. "Yes, we had a bit of a run in with Capricorn's men I guess you could say."

"That explains the injuries," she said, without a trace in surprise in her voice. "You must be very lucky to escape those bloodhounds twice now."

"Yes but by running away. I'm starting to think the Prince should find a friend who is less of a coward." Dustfinger tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice but knew he didn't succeed

"You're not a coward Dustfinger." He looked over to her but she was busy re-bandaging his arm.

"You haven't know me long enough to know that."

"I've seen you when you get into trouble Dustfinger and I can tell you that you are not a coward." Her voice was firm and when she looked back up at him her chin was jutted out stubbornly.

"Well, I'm certainly not brave," he argued trying to make see the truth. He didn't want Roxane to have any falsehoods about him.

"You don't purposely put yourself in harms way."

"That-" She cut him off with a sigh and then something happened that Dustfinger didn't think he could ever dream about. She kissed him. It was quick but it was enough to leave him breathless. She looked up at him with a smile playing on her lips and he wanted to say something witty but all he could do was stare at her with his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"You're not a coward and that's the end of it. Now, be sure to put some more of that plant on your burn tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

She flashed him a smile and walked back to the camp. A few minutes later Dustfinger managed to come back to his senses enough to walk back to the tents. When he finally laid down to sleep he could still feel her lips on his.


End file.
